Deathtrap Dungeon

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The next evolution of Tomb Raider? Not quite

By IGN Staff

As with most games, the intentions behind their creation is usually honest, inspired, and fleshed out with hard work, patience, and lots of refinement. Deathtrap Dungeon was surely created from pure inspiration as far as I know. But the final product, with which I have spent many hours now, proves to a curious meal. With great ideas executed in a fashion that clearly didn't require a chef, horrible tasting ingredients are smashed together with the exquisite to create a final dish not appetizing to most people with taste buds.

What really turned my near-gag response into a slightly wet appetite, however, was something beyond the glitchy, mediocre graphics, the unintuitive camera angles, and the sluggish control. Yes, beyond these annoying sandwich meats, I found that Deathtrap Dungeon is the hack and slash brainchild that Tomb Raider never was. (A real East Coast Hoagie perhaps!) And, pardon me for saying so, but action was one of the biggest elements I felt Tomb Raider lacked. Now, I realize Tomb Raider fans will argue that Lara's vehicle wasn't really supposed to be a massive headbanging wrestlefest (or even a cheesesteak, for that matter) -- and I do appreciate TR for what it was. But still, if one could forgive all of the other aforementioned ingredients, then one might discover the fun (and lipsmacking delight!) in Deathtrap Dungeon.

As either a female or male swordsperson (aka a fighter, paladin type), you wind through more than 10 large levels based on Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy books, whacking the limbs from ghoulish goblins and ogres, and learning the tricks of the castle's many traps. Your characters are capable of a handful of horizontal and vertical sword attacks, a few little combos, running, jumping, and climbing. There are funny little magic spells and potions that come in really handy as well, such as the Warpig, which runs toward the enemy with a pack of dynamite tied to its back, exploding upon impact. Also, enemies' limbs, upon being gouged, will often fly across the room, blood pooling by their sides. And while we're on the subject, the enemies are a fantastic combination of goblins (the smaller ones sounding remarkably similar to Beavis and Butthead), skeletons, dinosaurs, dragons, demons, pitfiends, and serpents. The total enemy count winds up to as many as 50 different kinds of bad guys, which is no small feat.

If you're new to videogames, you might find the control quite intriguing because of the 3D perspective. But for most players who dove into Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, or many other third-person perspective games, Deathtrap Dungeon actually handles control worse than those mentioned above. One would think with TB1 and 2 behind it, Eidos' Deathtrap Dungeon would be based on an enhanced, more polished model. Unfortunately, the control is more like playing Street Fighter 2 over a 28.8K Modem -- slow, unresponsive, and frustrating. And the camera angles are actually less dynamic, less useful, and more frustrating than either Mario 64 or Tomb Raider. That's the real shame in Deathtrap Dungeon.

Still, the blend of action and good puzzles will keep most players going, and a decent sector of the market will enjoy the game despite its clear-and-present-danger perspective flaws.

Graphically, Deathtrap Dungeon is a slight disappointment, too, with a few exceptions. The dark environments are often lit up when you approach them, and a good deal of color and ghoulish texture designs are used to good effect. The female character is not as stacked as Lara is up front, but she might as well have a whip and no leather at all covering her rear end, because what she is wearing is slim, slim, slim. Unfortunately, this game looks no better than Tomb Raider II, and seems to have more problems with shifting polygonal environments and loads of sloppy clipping problems (caused by the roving camera).

The sound effects are quite good. As in Tomb Raider, you mostly hear sound effects until a puzzle element is either unveiled, a sequence is started, or an enemy is near, and then atmospheric music is initialized. But the creaking of doors and other similar effects do create a fully realized audio sensation that's believable and immersive.

On the whole, fans will have mixed feelings about Deathtrap Dungeon. It's big, full of monsters, and is packed with action and puzzles, and the medieval theme is attractive to many a gamer. But the questionable sloppiness in many aspects of the game's very underpinnings render this about as attractive as leftover tuna or McDonalds french fries.